Has anyone thought of/tried a vacuum platter?

baggystevo82 · 26th March 2006, 06:48 PM

I was just looking happily at my shiny new £20 tt spinning, and it struck me....resonance in the platter material is supposed to be very important, but I doubt if most vinyl's touch the platter in more than a few places. Would it be possible or benificial, or even worth trying to make a seal round the edge and suck it down so it has total contact accross the whole surface (apart from where the vacuum holes are of course).

Just a thought...
Steve

Hector Ruiz · 27th March 2006, 01:55 AM

Steve,

Many, many years ago in the heyday of turntables one company did make an esoteric turntable that had what appeared to be an outboard "aquarium-type" pump to suck the record down against the platter's mat. I am not sure how vacuum was maintained while the platter was spinning or if the vacuum pump had to run during the time the record was playing. Only read about it in a magazine of the time (Audio, Stereo Review ?). An alternative you might consider would be a "record clamp". Several are available from The NeedleDoctor. They are meant for single play turntables and have spring loaded jaws (similar to a drill chuck) to grip the center post of the platter. In effect they clamp the record tightly to the platter's mat. Be aware that they do add additional weight to the platter. For some turntables with soft, compliant suspensions the platter may scrape the deck while rotating. I have a Thorens TD-125 and when used the clamp causes the platter to come very close to the wooden frame.

munchingmalc · 30th March 2006, 08:20 AM

just thought I'll let you know that luxman used to do vacuum decks,maybe you could find yourself one,but I do not know what model you'll have to do some research,the old hi-fi year books may help,(I have a few,if you want me to and I have time I maybe able to look them up.)

reverber · 30th March 2006, 11:33 AM

IIRC, there was another company (Audio Technica?) that made an add-onn vacuum turntable "mat." Vacuum was induced via a foot pump attached before spinning the record.
Micro Seki also had a vacuum platter turntable, and I seem to remember that the pump did double duty as the platter's air bearing.

Cody

SY · 30th March 2006, 11:50 AM

There were several vacuum platter decks around during the early 1980s. Normally, vacuum was applied until the record was sucked down against the platter, then the pump was turned off.

The concept lost popularity when users reported record damage. The mechanism was claimed to be plasticizer leaching from the record caused by the vacuum. I'm skeptical of that, but there certainly seemed to be something going on.

tubee · 1st April 2006, 03:34 PM

Reverber: i think you ment Micro Seiki.

They could get audio-enthousiastics "with their nose on the window" at the audio-shop in the 80's with their DD & BD TT's, attracted by vacuum platters, air supported bearings, bronze platters, and fine tone-arms. They also managed to make a bearing within a tolerance of 0.5 micron!

This firm can deliver parts for them:
http://my-micro.de/micro_home_gb.htm

Cobra2 · 1st April 2006, 09:05 PM

aside from Micro Seiki, Luxman also had a Vac. player.
And I just saw an Audio Technica Vac-platter on e-bay...

Arne K

SY · 1st April 2006, 11:07 PM

SOTA was a name I was trying to think of. Very popular in the US for a while.

26th March 2006, 06:48 PM	#1
baggystevo82 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Herefordshire	Has anyone thought of/tried a vacuum platter? I was just looking happily at my shiny new £20 tt spinning, and it struck me....resonance in the platter material is supposed to be very important, but I doubt if most vinyl's touch the platter in more than a few places. Would it be possible or benificial, or even worth trying to make a seal round the edge and suck it down so it has total contact accross the whole surface (apart from where the vacuum holes are of course). Just a thought... Steve

27th March 2006, 01:55 AM	#2
Hector Ruiz diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Metairie, LA	Vacuum Platter Steve, Many, many years ago in the heyday of turntables one company did make an esoteric turntable that had what appeared to be an outboard "aquarium-type" pump to suck the record down against the platter's mat. I am not sure how vacuum was maintained while the platter was spinning or if the vacuum pump had to run during the time the record was playing. Only read about it in a magazine of the time (Audio, Stereo Review ?). An alternative you might consider would be a "record clamp". Several are available from The NeedleDoctor. They are meant for single play turntables and have spring loaded jaws (similar to a drill chuck) to grip the center post of the platter. In effect they clamp the record tightly to the platter's mat. Be aware that they do add additional weight to the platter. For some turntables with soft, compliant suspensions the platter may scrape the deck while rotating. I have a Thorens TD-125 and when used the clamp causes the platter to come very close to the wooden frame. __________________ Technicraft

30th March 2006, 08:20 AM	#3
munchingmalc diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: tiverton,devon	vacuum(luxman) just thought I'll let you know that luxman used to do vacuum decks,maybe you could find yourself one,but I do not know what model you'll have to do some research,the old hi-fi year books may help,(I have a few,if you want me to and I have time I maybe able to look them up.)

30th March 2006, 11:50 AM	#5
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	There were several vacuum platter decks around during the early 1980s. Normally, vacuum was applied until the record was sucked down against the platter, then the pump was turned off. The concept lost popularity when users reported record damage. The mechanism was claimed to be plasticizer leaching from the record caused by the vacuum. I'm skeptical of that, but there certainly seemed to be something going on. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

1st April 2006, 03:34 PM	#6
tubee diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Netherlands	Reverber: i think you ment Micro Seiki. They could get audio-enthousiastics "with their nose on the window" at the audio-shop in the 80's with their DD & BD TT's, attracted by vacuum platters, air supported bearings, bronze platters, and fine tone-arms. They also managed to make a bearing within a tolerance of 0.5 micron! This firm can deliver parts for them: http://my-micro.de/micro_home_gb.htm __________________ Daisy Bell


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30th March 2006, 11:33 AM	#4
reverber diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA	IIRC, there was another company (Audio Technica?) that made an add-onn vacuum turntable "mat." Vacuum was induced via a foot pump attached before spinning the record. Micro Seki also had a vacuum platter turntable, and I seem to remember that the pump did double duty as the platter's air bearing. Cody

1st April 2006, 09:05 PM	#7
Cobra2 DIY ! diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Stavanger, Norway	Vac aside from Micro Seiki, Luxman also had a Vac. player. And I just saw an Audio Technica Vac-platter on e-bay... Arne K __________________ Ars longa, vita brevis

1st April 2006, 11:07 PM	#8
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	SOTA was a name I was trying to think of. Very popular in the US for a while. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

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